Monday, November 18, 2013

Spending the season here in the US. I was scheduled to be in the UK from September through the new year, but health issues have forced me to remain close to doctors. I am hoping to be able to make it to London by the second week of December.

The temperature isn't particularly cool this year. September gave the impression of a very early Autumn with temperatures dropping. But in early October, the temperature rose a bit and it has remained rather moderate... until the past 3 days. It is finally starting to feel like Autumn.

Regardless of the moderate temperatures, I have been enjoying the traditional foods of the season. I can't seem to get enough pumpkin into my system. A problem I welcome every year.

Nature naturally fluctuates. It cycles in small ways and in large, not only in temperature trends, but in every way. This year, one could say, is "the year of the mouse".

The mouse population is especially large this year. They are everywhere. The hardware stores can't seem to keep a supply of traps on hand. From a distance in the large hardware stores, you can always see a cluster of folks standing in front of the shelf that has the vermin eradication products.

I live next to an open land space, so my property has its share of this years' mousey trend. They are big, they are fat, they are brave, and they are sassy.

I am lucky in the respect that, unlike so many others this year, they have not invaded my house. This may be due to having an abundance of food sources outside. But they are everywhere on my property and completely unafraid of me; which is a little disconcerting.

They are, however, quite fearful of the hawk and owl population. I think the natural predators have been much more successful than I have been in reducing their numbers. I know this because most mornings of the week, there are fresh owl pellets on the deck to greet me. My level of joy regarding their assistance is somewhat tempered by the disgust I feel when I clean up the pellets.

Thanksgiving is much later this year and has made the month feel longer. I like that. I love Thanksgiving; a holiday that is about cooking fabulous food, eating it, and having serious leisure time for 4 days. It's all about reading, playing computer games, watching movies, and napping in front of the fire. It very well could be the smartest thing America has going for it.

On Thanksgiving Friday, I get my Christmas tree and I start listening to, and singing, Christmas music. But until then, it's Autumn. :-)

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

There is a lot of hysteria around climate change, as if it is something new and different and that we (the bad children) have brought this upon ourselves.There has always been climate change. The alternating cooling and heating of the planet has been going on since the world came into being. The planet has been through many ice ages and tropical heatings. There is geological proof of this. We're on a cycle. Currently, we are on a warming trend from the last ice age.Traditionally, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are responsible for major shifts in weather activity for many years after the event.Most recently, with the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in 2010 and the Japanese earthquake in 2011 that shifted the Earth's axis, we are experiencing a lot of climate differences. Secondary causes of climate change is industry, not the individual. If absolutely every individual on the planet did their part, it wouldn't begin to make a noticeable difference. They want to shift the responsibility onto the individual so the public will not notice that we are powerless to do anything.But the earth's natural cycle will continue. Regardless of our actions, the planet will continue on this swing towards warming. If we are to survive, we need to learn to adapt to this natural phenomenon, not panic and blame.Polluting... well, that's another topic and something we need to address. We CAN adapt to the heating of the planet, but the toxins produced by industry (pollution, waste, GMO's, pharmaceuticals) will likely kill us long before we do, if we don't act now.